Lucky
by BikerChick101
Summary: 'Lucky I'm in love with my best friend..." AU high school Gossip Girl, NS & CB
1. Chapter 1

Blair Waldorf sat on the met steps with coffee in her hands, watching her classmates and other's that went to her school walk in and out of the school gates, they still had half an hour until school officially began and that meant they could do what they wanted until that bell rang. It was their senior year of high school and Blair was excited, she just needed to continue to keep up her already perfect grades to get into Yale, she did the extra-curricular activities and now all she needed was that letter to say that she's accepted. She had her life planned out, she had to tweak her plans every once in a while when things didn't go her way but she knew where she was going and she didn't care who's toes she would have to step on to get there.

Beside her, her boyfriend of almost a year sat lazily. While she prided herself on having the proper posture he didn't mind slouching, today he was sprawled out, his elbows on the steps above them and his legs as far down as he could stretch them and glasses to cover his probably closed eyes, he was not a morning person. Blair rolled her eyes when she looked at him but smiled because she loved him and people in love make sacrifices to be with each other. If anyone had said Chuck Bass would be in a committed relationship with her a few years ago she would have laughed in their face, in fact the whole world would have laughed because Chuck was the ultimate playboy, he was never one to be tied down but she had her ways and he fell in love and that was that.

Glancing back to the school gates she saw her best friend since as far back as she can remember, Serena van der Woodsen, the Upper East Side's Golden Girl. She was constantly in the spotlight, she was a socialite, everybody wanted to dress like her and be like her, have the scandals she's had. The gossip site Gossip Girl started with Serena, the site posted things on all their lives but mainly Serena, her every move, every mistake, her latest being Daniel Humphrey, a boy from Brooklyn of all places, Blair shivered in disgust as she thought about it. It started a few months ago after Serena decided to turn her life around after a particularly bad night with resident bad girl Georgina Sparks which landed Serena in hospital and Georgina shipped off to some religious camp.

Serena stood at the gate for a few seconds after Blair spotted her, she searched the crowd until she found what she was looking for and smiled. Nathaniel Archibald or Nate, to everyone who wasn't his grandfather or Chuck, he and Chuck were best friends almost as long as she and Serena were. He was the Upper East Side's Golden boy, all the girls and many guys wanted to have him, blue eyes, blond hair and ever present tan made it impossible for people to resist his charm. Blair had the biggest crush on him when she was in her early teens but dreams of being with him were quickly squashed when she saw that he only had eyes for Serena, how they didn't end up together was a mystery to Blair. As Blair watched Serena and Nate embrace she knew what everybody else did, even though they may date other people they would always belong to each other.

Blair smiled as a plan formed in her head, she nudged Chuck a few times before giving up and pulling his glasses of his face. Chuck groaned as the harsh light hit his closed eyes that had to have been one of the cruelest wake up call's he had in a while.

"Morning honey," Chuck said smiling at Blair and squinting to see her through the light.

Blair laughed and kissed him lightly because they already greeted each other when he met her on the steps earlier, "Morning." She waited a few moments for him to shake the sleep from his eyes and drink half of her coffee before she told him what she'd been thinking. "So it's our senior year of high school and next year we're going to be all over the place so I want to do something nice this year, like a project."

"Should I be worried?" Chuck asked looking up at her and taking another sip of coffee.

"No, it's nothing devious," she said her eyes going back to the school gates and their best friends. "I just think it's finally time to get Nate and Serena to see what the world has known since they met."

"I love both of them but neither blond has the mental capacity to figure this out for themselves," Chuck drawled, now also watching Nate and Serena at the school gates.

"And that is why I said this is going to be a project," Blair said with a smile and Chuck raised an eyebrow. "_We_ are going to get Nate and Serena together."

"Why now?" Chuck whined there were so many opportunities when she could have done this when both the blonds were single. More than that he just wanted a relaxing care-free senior year were he could spoil his girlfriend and hang out with their best friends and get it over with as fast as they could. He really didn't want to try getting Nate and Serena together because getting them to see what was already in front of them would take time and a lot of effort.

"Because before we leave at the end of the year I want Serena to be happy and taken care of and Nate's the only one who'll love her enough to give her everything she needs and wants," Blair said, nodding and then she thought of Dan. "No matter how much she wants to believe in Humphrey, it's a fairytale waiting to fail."

"This is all about protecting Serena when you can't? You know Nathaniel will do that anyway right?" Chuck asked, using his shoulder to nudge Blair slightly. For her entire life she and Serena were like sisters, they always looked out for each other. The one thing Blair didn't want was for Serena to be unhappy when Blair herself was happy and she felt that the only way to ensure Serena's happiness was to get her and Nate together.

"I know but if they're official, it would just put my mind at ease knowing that they're together and they're happy and no stupid Humphrey is going to work his way into our group," Blair said clenching her jaw.

"Ah I get it," Chuck said and Blair glared at him. "Relax, the non-judging breakfast club will never be infiltrated by sneaky Brooklyn spies."

Blair slapped Chuck on the back on his head for teasing her and he laughed. Of course Chuck would love for Serena and Nate to get together like they should have done years ago but he wasn't going to mess around with their carefully constructed friendship, they were extremely close and in tune with each other yet they were absolutely oblivious to the other's feelings, whether it was by choice or they really didn't know, Chuck couldn't say.

"Blair it's ridiculous, just let them be," Chuck said rubbing his head. "They will see it eventually, someone will point it out and they'll look at each other and have an 'oh' moment."

"An epiphany," Blair corrected immediately and Chuck rolled his eyes.

"I know what word to use Blair but would you call that an epiphany really?" Chuck said and Blair twisted her mouth a little, she had to agree, their attraction to each other was hardly a kept secret, everyone could see it, she was sure people wrote stories about it that's how out there it was. "It's not a sudden feeling, it's something that already there and they are just too involved or scared to really acknowledge it."

"Urg speaking of involved," Blair said frowning as Dan Humphrey walked up to Serena and kissed her. Nate looked away from the kissing couple and straight at the Met steps, probably looking for them.

"I think Nathaniel needs our help," Chuck said smirking and standing up, he reached down and helped Blair up as well before leading her down to their two best friends.

"Hey guys, we were wondering where you were," Nate said happily when they approached them, Nate playfully punched Chuck and hugged Blair. Serena smiled at them, her arm linked with Dan's who just scowled, Blair wanted to comment but she didn't want to get into another fight with Serena over her obvious dislike for the curly haired boy.

"We were on the step's trying to sleep," Chuck said mock-glaring at Blair.

"You could have slept last night like normal people do," Blair snapped back and Nate laughed.

"Online games do that to you," Nate said and Chuck smirked.

"Killed you in the first five minutes," Chuck said wiggling his eyebrows and Nate frowned.

"Only because _somebody_ kept distracting me," Nate said with a pointed look at Serena who shrugged. Blair nudged Chuck and smiled as Dan bristled at the news that Serena was Nate's distraction. "And then I got sleepy, sorry man."

"You were paying more attention to the game then talking to me," Serena said and Nate rolled his eyes. "_I_ am more important than those weird games you play with Chuck."

"What were you talking about," Dan asked with raised eyebrows, obviously needing to know why Serena would be talking to Nate instead of him.

"Well I was trying to talk to him about going to the Hamptons soon," Serena complained poking Nate, not noticing the jealous glare her boyfriend was giving them. This summer she skipped going to the Hamptons with her friends to stay with Dan and now she realizes just how much she missed being there, it had become a tradition of some sort. "I was thinking that we have to go before it gets too cold to swim."

"The school has a pool Serena," Blair told her still smiling at the look on Dan's face. "But the Hamptons are always fun."

"We'll think of something," Chuck said as the bell rang. "See you after school, oh and Nathaniel we have basketball practice this afternoon."

"Oh yeah I have to tell you about that game I watched the other day," Nate said as Chuck steered him in the direction of their first class listening to something that happened during the game that Nate found amazing and taped for him to watch, Dan kissed Serena goodbye and trailed behind them.

Serena and Blair had class on the other side of campus, their classes were separate for girls and boys so they only met up during break. Serena tapped her pen against her textbook as she waited for the bell to ring, it was going to be another uneventful day, she could feel it. When the bell finally rang she met up with Blair and they made their way out of school. It was nice to have some girl time, Blair was always with Chuck and Serena was either with Dan or with Nate so they barely got to hang out together.

Serena's little brother Erik was already at their apartment by the time she got there, Serena spent a little time with her brother and decided to do her homework to pass the time. She'd finished her homework and made sure Erik was set for the next few hours she made her way to the Archibald's home a few blocks away from her apartment. She and Nate hadn't spoken properly in a few days (texting didn't count) so she decided to pay him a visit and hoped he wasn't too busy.

"Hey Mrs. A," Serena called when she entered the house. She'd been coming here for so long she didn't need to knock to enter and Archibald was too long of a surname but Howard and Anne learnt not to mind their son's friends when they came over anymore.

"Hi Serena, Nate's in his room," Anne called from the couch where she was reading.

"Thanks," Serena said running up the stairs and into Nate's room only stopping when she jumped onto the bed. "Hey Natie," she squeaked.

"How much of sugar did you have today?" Nate asked laughing, thankful he wasn't on the bed when she flopped onto it.

Serena rolled her eyes and shifted so she was sitting up on his bed and watched him move around his room. "Since you ignored me yesterday when I was texting you I decided you can't avoid me when I'm sitting right in front of you."

"Watch me," Nate said smirking and plugging his headphones in when he sat down at his desk.

Serena frowned and pulled the earphones out of his ears, "I'm right here," she said putting the earphones to her ears. "You weren't even listening to anything."

"Yeah I know, I just wanted to annoy you," Nate said and Serena glared at him, throwing the earphones onto his table and jumping back on the bed. "So what have you come running into my room to say?"

"Nothing much, I just miss you," she said shrugging.

"I'm right here S," he said ruffling her hair and she scowled at him as she tried to set it straight. "That is not my fault anyway because you my dear were ignoring me for a boy."

"Ah but it was your fault," Serena said pointing a finger at him and Nate crossed his arms and waited for her explanation. "I called you so many times to come hang out with us."

Nate laughed, "Serena you were with your _boyfriend_ and you were inviting another guy to hang out with the two of you," he said cupping her face in his hands and shaking his head. "Guys don't like that, plus he looks at me weirdly."

"Weirdly how," Serena said pouting as Nate sat down on the bed next to her and Nate raised an eyebrow because how could she not see the death glares he gets from one Dan Humphrey.

"He just looks at me like I'm going to steal you away from him or something," Nate said putting his arm around her shoulders.

"But you aren't, right?" Serena asked softly resting her head on Nate's chest. Nate shook his head whispered no and Serena tilted her head so she could look at her best guy friends' face. "So why don't you guys hang out, for me?"

"Serena, I don't think that's how it works," Nate said and Serena got up to pout at him.

"Please," she asked giving him the puppy eyes she knew he could never resist. "It would mean a lot to me because you're my best friend ever and I know he's not exactly what we're used to but I think there's something real between us and I want him to feel comfortable around my friends, please Natie."

Nate groaned when he looked at her, he could never resist her when she looked at him that sadly. "Fine, I'll think about it," Nate said and Serena squealed and hugged him tight knowing that she had him.

"Thanks Natie you're the best," she said kissing his cheek and jumping of the bed. Nate just shook his head and laughed. "That's his number," Serena said programming Dan's number into Nate's phone and jumping again. "This is awesome, it'll be good for him."

"How does this benefit me exactly?" Nate asked as Serena sat back next to him and wrapped her arms around his arm, letting her head rest on his shoulder.

"Well if you guys get along then you'll see a lot more of me," Serena said with a huge smile. "And you'll get a new friend."

Nate smiled for her benefit but he doubted that's how it will be, he and Dan would get along for Serena and that would be it. "That sounds awesome S."

"I know," Serena said squeezing his arm. "Thanks for being my best friend Natie."

"You're welcome," Nate said leaning down to kiss Serena on her head.

"I have to get back to Erik," Serena said after a few moments of silence. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Nate said nodding as she got up.

"Love you Natie," she called as she left the room.

"Love you too," he said shaking his head, that girl could really make him do whatever she wanted.

* * *

**A/N ok so that's the set up for the new NS story I have, it's not too long and I think the other chapters are shorter than this but right now it's basically just the outline and I'll fill it up soon lol I wanted to give you guys a chapter a day with this story but I've decided to add more to it so you may have to wait a little longer, since the chapters may come out quickly I'd like to ask that you review every chapter you read please.**

**This story is AU it follows very little from the show and I think it shows a more book like Serena and Nate I'm not sure I havent really read the books but anyway it's a fun story that's going to be really fluffy with ver few dramatic scenes **

**Oh before I forget the title is from the Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat song 'Lucky' which I do not own, neither do I own Gossip Girl**

**I hope you enjoy this please review and if you havent seen yet, 'Worth the wait' is complete and 'Just checking' is a short oneshot that I posted yesterday so please review those as well if you havent. OMG I feel kinda wierd begging for reviews lol but its nice to see if people enjoy your work so please review**

**Until next time (^^,)**


	2. Chapter 2

Blair paced around the school gates she was at a loss, she could do take downs and she could manipulate the toughest of people but she couldn't get two of her best friends to see how perfect they are for each other. Serena was getting more involved with the Brooklyn boy and Nate didn't even seem to care, in fact he made friends with the guy and invited him to play basketball with the other guys, Chuck didn't like it but they seemed to have worked something out.

Blair brought her thumb to her lips and started to chew on the nail until Chuck grabbed her. "That is a disgusting habit," he said and she frowned.

"I know," she snapped and Chuck raised his arms up in defense. "It's like they are trying to make this harder, I haven't even begun trying to get them together and already I have to do something about this … this bromance Nate's forming with Serena's cabbage patch friend."

"Nathaniel's not doing it because he wants to," Chuck told her. "Serena begged him to 'make friends' with him."

"Oh sweetie," Blair said sweetly touching Chuck's face before frowning and pulling her hand away. "That doesn't help me at all."

Chuck rolled his eyes and looked at Blair. "Why don't we let the blonds figure it out and we enjoy our year," he said wrapping his arms around her.

"Fine," Blair said leaning her head against his chest and sighing.

"You're not going to let this go are you?" Chuck asked and Blair shook her head no, Chuck pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ok I don't think I'll be much help but I'll try."

"Anything will be fine," Blair said, they hadn't even started working on getting Nate and Serena together and already it was so exhausting.

"We're playing again this afternoon and I know how much you girl's love watching us, so why don't you come check us out in practice and we'll scheme after," Chuck suggested and Blair nodded wrapping her arms around his waist and smiling contently.

* * *

Later that day Serena and Blair sat on the benches while the boys played ball on the court. Serena was gushing about how awesome it is now that her boyfriend is playing and that he's friends with their guys and then she screamed his name and Blair cringed because she _screamed_ Dan's name.

"Ok who is that?" Serena asked and Blair turned her attention away from Chuck to look at the small group of girls sitting on the opposite side of the benches.

"I think they're cheerleaders," Blair said looking at their outfits. "Why didn't we ever try out for cheerleading?"

"You didn't want to seem so brainless and I wanted to party with Georgina," Serena answered distractedly, still looking at the group, they were giggling and pointing out into the field. The redhead sitting above the girls seemed to be the leader, she wasn't paying much attention to what her squad was doing she had her eyes trained on someone on the field. When Serena followed her line of sight it was only Nate that this girl was looking at.

"I should have rethought that," Blair was saying, imagining the power she'd have if she ruled the cheerleaders too. "If I could get head cheerleader, imagine how many minions I would have then."

The cheerleaders and the school Queen being Blair and her group, tended to avoid each other, there wasn't a rivalry but they were never friendly either. Both were popular but Gossip Girl tended to favor Blair and Serena so they were more talked about and held more power over the rest of the school.

"She's staring at Nate," Serena said and Blair looked at her confused before looking down at the redhead with way too much make-up on. "She's not a new girlfriend, she can't be, he didn't say anything to me, do you think she has a crush on him?"

"Maybe," Blair said with a smile, Serena was getting jealous that someone was paying too much attention to Nate, imagine what she'd do if Nate paid attention to someone else. "I wonder if Nate knows, she looks nice and he's been single way too long."

Serena scoffed but she didn't turn to Blair, she was still watching this girl, whose eyes were not leaving Nate. "He has not, his last relationship only ended before the school holidays," Serena said and Blair almost laughed.

"Yeah S, he's been back on the market for a couple of weeks, you'd have thought someone would have taken advantage of that by now," Blair said, subtly pointing out that Serena should have but her best friend was too distracted by the new girl staring at Nate.

"Well it's not going to be her," Serena said turning to look at Blair. "She's not his type."

"S, Nate doesn't have a type," Blair said she resisted the urge to say that 'Serena' wasn't a type. "Maybe she'll be good for him."

"She will not, just look at how she looks at him," Serena said turning her attention back to the girl. "Like a piece of meat."

Blair pressed her lips together to hold back a smile, "You know I said Dan won't be good for you and look how happy you turned out, maybe you should give this girl a chance."

Blair almost laughed as Serena shook her head, she was enjoying making her friend squirm with protectiveness and jealousy. "She'll break his heart, you know how sensitive Nate is."

Blair smiled and looked out into the court, Chuck caught her eye and grinned, so this was his plan all along, Blair thought. Smiling she gave him a thumbs up and he nodded. Nate threw the ball and cheered with his team when he scored the winning point.

Serena frowned when the red head jumped up and down and squealed with her friends before they all ran onto the field, spreading out to the nearest guy. Chuck took a step back so none of the girls would go to him and Blair smiled at his efforts, Serena on the other hand got up without warning and stormed onto the court because the redhead was talking to Nate _and_ she was touching his arm.

Blair laughed as she walked down to Chuck, "Genius," she muttered when she reached him and he chuckled. "I wonder how much longer until they figure it out?" she asked, squealing when he tried to hug her because he was sweaty.

"Natie," Serena screamed jumping onto his back. "Awesome game."

Nate laughed as his arms automatically latched around her to keep her from falling if him. "Hey S," he said tightening his arms a little so he could give her an awkward back hug. "Oh Serena this is, Bree Buckly," Nate said nodding to the red head in front of him and Serena gave the girl her best fake smile as she was sure Bree was giving her. "Bree this is my _annoying_ best friend Serena van der Woodsen."

"I've heard about you," Bree said sweetly, holding her hand out to Serena, Serena unlocked one hand from around Nate's neck to shake Bree's hand, keeping the other firmly around him. "You're quite the party girl."

"I've had my days," Serena said, she didn't like this girl at all.

"Dan's somewhere around here," Nate said with a small frown when he couldn't see the curly haired boy from where he was. "You will be pleased to know that he's actually fitting in with the guys."

"Yey," Serena said faking excitement and then realizing that if she stayed on Nate's back any longer instead of going to find her boyfriend it will cause Nate to ask her questions that she wasn't sure how to answer yet. "Ok, I'm going to find them, I'll see you later."

Serena kissed Nate's cheek and jumped of his back before making her way to Dan and one of the other guys. Dan didn't look very impressed that she went to Nate first but he didn't say anything to avoid an argument. Serena smiled at the other guy and pecked Dan on his lips, Dan's teammate asked him a question so he turned back to that conversation keeping an eye on Serena who was openly watching Nate and his red head friend with her arms crossed and an unreadable expression on her face, it looked like a cross between anger, jealousy and sadness.

"Hey Serena, I'll walk you home," Dan said touching her arm and Serena looked up at him and smiled her expression soft again. Sometimes he really had no idea why someone as amazing as Serena van der Woodsen would want him as a boyfriend.

"So Nate told me that you don't play half bad, I had to come check it out for myself," Serena said and Dan cringed at the way she said Nate's name, when she calls him 'Natie' it's always playful but when she calls him 'Nate' it's this intimate tone that always gets Dan so jealous.

"Yeah, yeah it's going well, the guys aren't bad I guess, Chuck says things sometimes but Nate's been cool," Dan says and it's true, he can't bring himself to hate the guy because he really was that nice. "I heard you screaming."

Serena smiled brightly, "I was hoping you did," she exclaimed. "I was so excited, it's the first time I saw you play."

Dan couldn't help but smile with her, Serena had that effect on you, she could always get you to smile. "I have to rush home, mom and Jenny are planning some surprise for my dad's birthday so I have to keep him occupied."

"Oh, you could keep him busy with basketball," Serena said nodding and giving him a huge smile because she gave him an awesome idea.

Dan laughed at her enthusiasm and leaned down to kiss her. "Yeah I'll think about it, see you at school."

"Bye Dan," Serena called as she walked into her building.

Erik van der Woodsen sat at his laptop finishing his homework as he waited for his sister to get home, their mother was somewhere in the world with her new boyfriend after her third wedding didn't work out like she planned. He and Serena stopped counting her boyfriends and husbands, they just leant to be polite to those they'd never see again and dress up nicely and pose for photos if a wedding came along.

"Hey sis," Erik said when he saw his sister, she looked pissed, she threw her bag on the floor and paced in front of him.

"What do you know about Bree Buckly?" Serena asked and Erik raised an eyebrow.

"The cheerleader?" he asked and Serena nodded. "Not much, she's old money, her family's pretty big, I think they have something to do with oil or diamonds…"

"I don't care what her family does," Serena said loudly cutting him of and sat down on the couch tapping her feet and biting her nail. "I want to know what she wants with Nate."

"Nate?" Erik asked confused, his sister has always been protective of Nate, she'd scrutinize his girlfriends and intimidate them with her relationship with Nate but she's never looked this upset about it.

"Yes Nate, the guy that's been coming here since before you were born," Serena said running her hands through her hair and Erik frowned.

"Serena you do know that Dan's your boyfriend right?" Erik asked and Serena raised an eyebrow at her little brother to ask him what his point was. "Well you aren't meant to go this crazy over some girl you saw Nate talking to."

"How do you know they were just talking?" Serena asked and Erik turned the laptop so Serena could see Nate and Bree at the courts talking.

"Gossip Girl is interested but they didn't do anything else," Erik said. "At least there's no photographic evidence to say something else happened."

"Well she was flirting a lot," Serena said and Erik laughed so Serena glared at him.

"Nate's single, he's allowed to flirt," Erik said biting his lip to hide his smile from his fuming sister. "Why are you getting upset?"

"I don't know, I just … urg," Serena said falling back on the couch and putting a pillow over her head. "It was normal and then today all of a sudden this girl just took his attention and I didn't like it."

"So you're getting jealous of other girls that like Nate," Erik said. "Why?"

"Why are you asking me such hard questions?" Serena asked scowling. "I saw her watching him and then she only spoke to him and I got … defensive, because he's mine, not hers."

"Serena this girl didn't do anything to take him away from you," Erik said, he was amused at his sister's possessiveness over Nate. "Nate's had girlfriends before."

"Yeah but they were easy to get rid of," Serena said and Erik gasped. "What? They weren't good enough for him so they left, I didn't even have to do that much, this girl looks like she's going to be a challenge."

"Don't you think that's Nate's decision?" Erik asked trying not to laugh at his sister and she just waved her hand. "Ok, so why are you with Dan?"

"Because he's sweet and different from all the other guys that I've dated, he keeps me on the right track," Serena said slowly and Erik gave her a pointed look. "I don't know what answer you were looking for."

"You guys have been dating for a while, the answer should have been 'because I love him'," Erik said and Serena scrunched up her nose at him and looked away. "Ok let me ask you a question."

"I think I love him," Serena said thinking that was the question Erik was going to ask and Erik shook his head for her to be quiet.

"Why didn't you and Nate get together when you were both single," Erik asked.

"We were never single at the same time," Serena said and Erik thought back, he was so sure that wasn't true, they were both single at the same time at least twice so why weren't they together. "We're best friends anyway, it would be weird to date Nate, date Nate, that rhymed."

"As amazing as that rhyme is Serena, that's an excuse," Erik said shaking his head at his sister.

Serena took a breath and shrugged. "Nate won't want to date me, he's never tried to stop me from getting into any relationship, he's never gotten jealous," Serena said, biting on her lip. "He doesn't notice me like other guys do, his eyes never follow me when I try to get his attention, he's just _not into me_ like that."

"But if he were, you'd date him?" Erik asked.

"Erik I've been in love with Nate since I knew what love was," Serena said with a sad smile. "Of course I'd date him, he's ... Nate."

"Why don't you tell him this?" Erik asked. "He could be scared to let you know how he feels for the same reasons."

"No Erik, Nate doesn't like me like that he probably thinks of me as his little sister or something," she said shaking her head. "I'd rather have him as the amazing best friend he is now than ruin that and have it be awkward, I can't lose him like that."

Erik didn't know what to say to that, if she was right then he knew she'd probably shut him out of her life forever if he let didn't return her feelings but if he did then they'd be the perfect couple. "Ok so you aren't going to do anything but why break up his relationships," he finally asked when it dawned on him that she tried breaking up all of Nate's relationships and she succeeded.

"I know this is going to sound selfish but I don't want anyone else to have him," Serena said biting her lip and Erik knew she felt bad about doing it but she wasn't going to apologize because she couldn't say she was sorry for doing it. `

"Serena you need to stop," Erik said giving his sister a sympathetic smile and Serena nodded.

"Fine but I still want to know everything about this Bree girl," Serena said and Erik chuckled. "I won't do anything."

"Ok, I'll see what I can find," Erik said and Serena gave him a hug. His sister was the craziest girl in the world but she was his sister and he'd do anything for her.

* * *

**A/N Hey guys I'm glad you're enjoying this so far :D I love writing this its just fun and easy lol anyway as promised the next chapter *claps hands* if you keep up the amazing reviews I'll post another chapter tomorrow hehe ... who am I kidding, I'll do that anyway lol**

**So thank you for the amazing reviews, I just want to let you guys know that I am going to update this story really fast so could you please review the chapters as you read them, it would be greatly appreciated!**

**Ok so this chapter introduces Bree, I needed to bring in someone for Nate and she just kinda appeared, I needed Dan more as a name more than anything else, but he'll have a few moments. We also find out that Serena has feeling for Nate but she plays it of as friendship to keep her close relationship with him.**

**I adore Erik so I had to sneak him in somehow hehe he's her little brother and she loves him more than anything, that much was clear on the show.**

**Please review and enjoy, until next time (^^,)**


	3. Chapter 3

The weekend after she first met Bree they went to Hamptons like she begged them, what she didn't realize was that it was like the calm before the storm because Serena had Nate all to herself and she would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy being with him without any distractions. It even felt like double dating when Erik skipped some of their dinners and it was just the four of them, the NJBC.

She got a taste of what it would be like to actually date Nate and she wanted more, she craved it because it was literally more addicting than any drug she'd ever had. He was the perfect gentleman, he pulled her chair out for her when they went out, paid for her things when they went to the movies, he'd pay for Erik as well, letting Chuck sort himself and Blair out, since it was the beginning of Autumn the air at night had a little bite to it, Nate's jacket would be around her before she even felt it, she loved wearing his clothes because it smelt like him. Those three days were just filled with Nate, Nate, Nate, Nate, Nate.

At some points during their weekend Serena felt as if Nate could actually like her back as more than a friend. He was the only one who enjoyed walking on the beach with her and sometimes she thought she saw him looking at her, most of the time she'd be on his back or they'd be playing some game where he'd chase her and they'd both tumble onto the sand in a fit of giggles but she felt his eyes on her when she walked and she smiled because maybe something could happen.

But what made her suspect that his feelings may have changed the most was his kisses. Up until that weekend she was used to getting these little pecks on her head or her cheek or sometimes even on her hand, it had always been that way for her and Nate ever since they were younger and Blair made them watch a movie where the prince kissed the princess' hand, it started as a joke, Nate would tease the prince and Serena would pretend to be the princess and then it just stuck. During that weekend though, when he said goodnight his lips would linger on her forehead longer than it should and when they went out to dinner while Blair and Chuck were having a make-out session Nate would take her hand and bow and kiss it, keeping it pressed to his lips until he pulled her close to him. Serena would give him questioning looks because she knew he knew what he was doing but Nate would just smile and shrug.

"I saw that," Erik said while they were packing to go back home and Serena jumped turning to her brother with wide eye's wondering what she'd been caught doing.

"What?" she asked thinking back. "I didn't do anything."

Erik laughed, "It's not something you did, I saw you and Nate," Erik said and Serena frowned.

"What did you see?" she asked crossing her arms and tilting her head.

"Serena it's obvious he loves you like you love him," Erik said and Serena shushed him, she didn't want anyone to hear that. "Just tell him and get together already before Dan think's you're going to get more serious or Bree sinks her teeth into him."

"You know I can't do that Erik," Serena said shaking her head at her brother and Erik frowned.

"Because you don't want to ruin the friendship, yes I get it," he said rolling his eyes. "You'll never know if you don't try."

"Hey, ready to go?" Nate asked popping his head through the door and Serena jumped staring at him with wide eyes like she'd just been caught doing something wrong. "Everything ok?"

"Yeah, we're fine, we'll be out now," Erik said smiling at Nate and then turning to Serena and lifting his eyebrows before turning and leaving the room.

Serena took a deep breath to calm herself then she shook her head because her brother wasn't going to get to her. She knew how Nate felt and it wasn't what she wanted. She would deal with whatever came to her and she'd be fine because she knew how to act around Nate and his girlfriends, she'd been dealing with it for too long to let herself slip up now but that weekend changed something, she wasn't sure what it was but her relationship with Nate wouldn't be the same again.

In the coming weeks Serena would wish that she'd listened to her brother because she had to watch as Nate and Bree got close, the redhead started sticking onto Nate, she'd meet him in the mornings and find him during their breaks and she'd be at every practice afterschool. Serena hated it, she hated that Nate's attention was being diverted from her to this girl and she was jealous that the redhead seemed to have won over Chuck and Blair as well. She couldn't quite figure out why but there was something about Bree that she didn't trust, she promised Erik that she wouldn't interfere unless it was a life and death situation and she would never break any promise to her little brother.

That wasn't the only thing that had changed though, Chuck and Blair were acting weirder than normal. They made plans to meet up at the Palace bar but they didn't show up which left only Nate and Serena, they didn't mind being alone together especially since Bree Serena loved any alone time with Nate but whatever was going on with their best friends it was starting to worry them, that was the fourth time that Chuck and Blair stood them up in a row. Serena wondered about it but decided to only bring up her worries the next day when she was sprawled on Nate's bed as he dug through his cupboard.

"Do you think they're having problems?" Serena asked fluffing the pillow up and putting her head back on it.

"I don't think they are," Nate said and Serena nodded, she wasn't paying that much attention to him, her eyes were closed and she was lazily toying with the frill on the edge of one of the pillows his mother put in the room. "Chuck would have said something if they were and I'm sure Blair would have as well."

"Maybe," Serena said she didn't seem to believe him.

"Besides its Chuck and Blair, you know they like their games, they probably just forgot," Nate said sitting on the bed.

"Four times?" Serena asked. "And they forgot to call, they avoided our questions when we asked too."

"I don't think they are having problems, I think it's Chuck and Blair being Chuck and Blair," Nate said leaning down to kiss her head. "Now I've got to go, I'll see you tomorrow."

Serena's eye's snapped open and she sat up and stared at Nate. "Wait go where?" she asked only then did she notice he was wearing a tie, he never wears a tie.

"I have a date with Bree tonight," Nate said wiggling his eyebrows at her. "At that restaurant Blair took us to a few weeks ago."

"Ah the time's they loved us and kept to our plans," Serena said in a mock-dreamy voice, then she frowned at Nate. "You hated that place, didn't you say it was overpriced and the food tasted like cardboard?"

"I did," Nate said with an amused smile as he adjusted his tie. "But that's where Bree wants to go, it's the first time she agreed to go out with me on a proper date, I want it to be what she wants."

"Come here," Serena said getting fed up of watching his fiddle with his tie. "So she's been playing hard to get and you're going to do anything to please."

"You make me sound like such a desperate fool," Nate said with a laugh as Serena redid the knot.

"You are a desperate fool for taking her to this place because she wants to seem all fancy to get in your pants," Serena said keeping her eyes focused on the tie and Nate laughed. "I'm not wrong."

"Well that's one way to put it," he said as she finished the knot and straightened his tie. "Thank you."

"You look good Nate," Serena said sitting back down. "But I don't like her."

Nate sighed, he knew this was coming. Serena had been dodging the subject of Bree for weeks but she didn't miss a chance to give the red head death stares and cut her off whenever they spoke. He also knew that Dan was starting to get more jealous every time Serena snapped at Bree or said something mean about her. Serena used whatever time she could get Bree away from Nate to be near him, to make sure she was still a bigger part than Bree in his life and that didn't go over too well with her boyfriend but Serena didn't really care much about what Dan thought anymore, she just needed to keep Bree away from 'her Nate'.

"I like her," Nate told her as a warning for her not to do anything and Serena put her arms up in defense she already made her promises to Erik. "I think you will warm up to her, she really is nice," Nate said and Serena shrugged and bit on her lip. "Call Dan and do something with your boyfriend instead of bugging me about my soon to be girlfriend."

Serena didn't say anything so Nate squeezed her hand and grabbed his wallet, saying bye as he walked out of his room. Serena buried her face into the pillow for a moment before getting up and starting to go home. Maybe she should call Dan, she barely spoke to him, they seemed to be worlds apart right now, if she wasn't cancelling on him then he was cancelling on her, there were so many things he needed to help his sister with, when Serena was a freshman they never had to do so many essays for English. Serena figured she'd just have to trust him and hope those helping Jenny excuses were real.

"Erik," Serena screamed when she got into the apartment, she hoped her little brother wasn't asleep or busy, she decided that they'd pay Dan a surprise visit. Erik and Jenny got along well so it wasn't like she was dragging her little brother all the way to Brooklyn to be bored. "Erik," she called again frowning and making her way up to his room.

* * *

Nate sat at the restaurant with Bree, she was a chatterbox, she had opinions about everything and she was fun to talk to, it was almost enough to get through the dullness of this 'classy' restaurant and its tasteless food, almost. Then she started talking about his Grandfather and the rest of his family, asking questions about things he wasn't very comfortable talking about. She seemed to pick up on this and laughed it off saying she was just intrigued by the Archibald family.

Nate almost jumped out of his chair when his phone rang and got outside as quickly as he could to take the call. "Hey S, I think you were right Bree's getting a little sketchy, she's asking about my family," Nate said looking back over his shoulder to look at the red head who was laughing at something on her phone. Nate frowned when Serena didn't answer with an 'I told you so' like he expected. "Serena?"

"Nate, I'm on my way to the hospital," Serena said, her voice cracking at the end of the sentence and Nate's heart stopped. "Erik… when I got home Erik wasn't breathing, they are saying it was an asthma attack and I'm lucky I got to him that quickly."

"Shit," Nate whispered and Serena sobbed, he could tell she was trying to control it.

"He doesn't have asthma, Nate," Serena said. "He's never had a problem like this before, he's never told me if he had difficulty breathing, he's smarter than this, he should have told me."

"I know S, I know," Nate said because that was all he could think about, he knew the hospital they were taking Erik too and looking down to the streets of Manhattan it wouldn't take him very long to get there. "I'll be there in 10 minutes ok, I'll meet you at the hospital."

"Thank you," Serena whispered and cut the call, Nate ran his hand through his hair, he texted Blair and Chuck to let them know what happened and walked back to his table as quickly as he could.

"I need to go, Serena's brother is in hospital," Nate said.

"She's probably making it up," Bree said dismissing it with a wave of her hand and Nate felt like slapping her. "You saw how she was when I was around, she's jealous that you're spending more time with me, she probably just wants to spoil our date."

"No, she'd never use her brother," Nate said pulling his coat on and locating his wallet. "He's too important to her to be used in a lie."

"I think she would, she's get a manipulative streak," Bree said and Nate couldn't find it in him to actually care what she was saying. "You can't honestly believe her."

Throwing some money onto the table Nate grabbed his phone and left without a proper goodbye, he just had to get to the hospital as quick as he could. When he got to the hospital he received Chucks message to say that he and Blair were on their way, he found out where Erik was and sent them his room number before running up to find Serena.

* * *

**A/N : Yey I love that you guys love this story, I apologise in advance for the shortness of it because I think there's two chapters left to post but I'd rather not mess with what I've already written because it's pretty good so you're just going to have to take my word for it hehe I will definately write another fun one like this if I get the insperation because it was really alot of fun**

**Thank you soooooo much for the reviews! I didnt think they'd come this fast but you guys surprised me hehe again I ask that you please review the chapters as you read since I'm spoiling you soooo much and posting a chapter every day**

**Ok I know this chapter was a little jumpy but I tried to make it as long as possible and fit in all the things I needed to without dragging it out too much if that makes sense but basically it the Hamptons weekend the first chapter brought up, Serena is upset with Nate and Bree's date and Erik is being rushed to hospital dont kill me! lol ok so I should have another chapter up tomorrow if not then I'll try for Friday, I'm not going to be home so my internet use will be limited**

**Oh and as for the series I finally watched until the episode after Blair's massive wedding I think it's called 'the backup Dan' 5x14, I love love loved the look Serena and Nate shared when they were taking Lola's van to the Empire to find Blair it was so cute OMG I miss them and their eye sex lol**

**So please review and let me know how I'm doing so far, Until next time (^^,)**


	4. Chapter 4

Serena was sitting next to the bed rubbing circles on the back of her brothers' hand. "Hey," Nate said and Serena whispered his name and was in his arms before he could say anything else. Nate looked over at Erik, the boy was asleep, he looked so much younger than he actually was. "He's ok S."

Nate tried to get her to stop crying by reassuring her that her brother was ok but she just held onto him tighter because she could've lost her brother, she could never lose Erik.

"Serena," Blair said as she and Chuck came into the room, Blair took Serena out of Nate's arms and held her. Chuck stood back with Nate watching the girls.

"Doctors say he'll be fine, he just needs to start using an inhaler now," Chuck informed them.

"I called my mom but I got her voicemail," Serena said once she calmed down a little, moving from Blair to Nate finding more comfort in his arms than that of her girl best friend. "I'm just waiting for him to wake up."

Nate squeezed her arms. "They're going to keep him here tonight," Chuck said taking Blair's hand in his. "You should probably go home and come back tomorrow."

"No," Serena said shaking her head. "I want to be here when he wakes up, I don't want him to be alone."

"We're going now, call us when he's home," Blair said touching Serena's shoulder. "Nate, are you coming with us?"

"I think I'll stay here for a little while," Nate told them looking down at Serena and Blair nodded, she looked back at Erik and left the room without saying anymore. "I'm going to go get coffee, I'll be back in a minute," Nate told Serena and she nodded going to back to sit next to her little brother.

Serena's phone rang and she answered it quickly, the number was blocked so she was hoping it was her mother, "Hello," she said listening for any sign that it was her mom.

"Hey Serena," Dan's voice came from the other end of the line and Serena's shoulders slumped and she sighed heavily. "Not the greeting I was looking for."

"Hey Dan, yeah I'm sorry, I was hoping this was my mom," Serena said getting up to leave the room so she wouldn't disturb Erik.

"Your mom? Is something wrong?" Serena explained to Dan the type of relationship they had with her mother, they were too old for nannies now but ever since Serena and Erik's father left, she was never a part of their lives, she showed up for events to pretend that she was mom of the year but other than that they never heard from her.

"Well, Erik's in hospital, he's had some kind of Asthma attack," Serena said as calmly as she could. "They're keeping him here for observation."

"Oh ok, well do you want me to come there?" Dan asked and she could picture him walking around scratching his head as he tried to come up with a plan to get to her. "Mom's trying to set up some family game night thing but I'm sure I can skip it."

"No, no it's ok," Serena said spotting Nate who walked into Erik's room and started to panic when he couldn't find her. Serena waved at him but he wasn't looking in her direction. "Nate, I'm here."

"Nate's there?" Dan asked in a jealous tone and Serena cringed, looking to Nate when he raised an eyebrow at her, she mouthed Dan and he handed her her coffee and stepped back into Erik's room. "Wow, no wonder you don't want me to come see you."

"Jeez Dan what do you want from me?" Serena asked, she was really tired and worried and she didn't need any of this. "He's my best friend, of course he came when I called."

"You called him instead of me Serena," Dan exploded into the phone and Serena took the phone away from her ear. "I'm your boyfriend you're supposed to call me."

"I get that, but I panicked and he was the first person I thought of," Serena said rubbing her forehead. In the background she heard a girl's voice that didn't sound like Jenny or Mrs. Humphrey asking if he was alright. "I thought you said this was an 'only family' thing."

"That was my friend Vanessa," Dan said, sounding a little embarrassed and Serena shook her head.

"You know what you really need to get of your high horse, I tell you everything when it comes to Nate and you didn't even mention to me that you _had_ a friend named Vanessa," Serena said as softly as she could looking around to see if anyone was listening to her conversation. "So every time you were helping Jenny with an essay, I'm guessing you conveniently forgot to tell me that Vanessa was there helping as well."

"Serena you don't get to turn this around and blame it on me," Dan said and Serena scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I _do_," she said forcefully. "I get to say anything I want because I never lied to you, _ever_, I have to go."

"Why? Is Nate calling?" Dan said in a mocking tone and Serena wished he was in front of her so she could slap him.

"No, because my brother just woke up," Serena said breathing heavily as she tried to calm herself down. "You know what, just go back to your family night with Vanessa and don't bother calling me ever again."

"Are… are you breaking up with me?" Dan asked and Serena nodded only realizing after a few seconds that he couldn't see her. "This is such a ridiculous thing to break up over."

"Even if it is, we're over," she said, she couldn't believe how shocked he sounded or how relieved she felt. "Goodbye Dan."

Serena shut her phone off and almost ran into the room to hug her brother. "I need to breathe," he said and Serena let go of him quickly and sat down on the bed, taking his hands in hers.

"You don't know how much you scared me," she told him squeezing his hands. "Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?"

"There wasn't anything wrong," he said. "I was just stressing for that huge test we have next week and the next thing I know I feel like I can't breathe and then you came in right after I fell of the chair."

"I'm so glad you're alright," Serena said, hugging him again but not tight enough to stop his breathing.

"When can I get out of here?" Erik asked looking from Nate to Serena.

"Tomorrow," Serena told him. 'They want to keep you for observation tonight."

"Ok, so I guess you guys have to go now then," Erik said and Nate nodded, Serena looked like she was going to burst into tears.

"I can stay," she said, she didn't want Erik to be alone especially not tonight.

"Go home, get some sleep, I'm going to do the same," Erik said and Serena didn't look convinced so Erik laughed at her and told her to leave.

"Ok, I'm going to tell the nurse to check on you and call me if anything is wrong," Serena said hugging her brother. "I love you."

"You'll take care of her?" Erik asked Nate as he stood up to follow his blond best friend.

"Don't worry, I never fail when I'm on Serena duty," Nate reassured and half teasing Erik with a smile and the younger boy nodded but still looked wary. "I'll stay with her tonight ok?"

"Ok, I think that makes me less stressed," Erik said and Nate laughed, Serena and Erik were always looking out for each other, they had to be their own parents growing up in a world with absentee parents, with Serena stepping in multiple time to play mom to Erik instead of just being his sister.

"We'll be back in the morning to get you," Nate said and walked out of the room. "Sweet dreams."

Erik sighed, maybe tonight his sister would finally tell him the truth about her feelings and maybe Nate will feel the same, he was almost positive Nate would feel the same but it was all up to them.

Nate found Serena harassing a nurse to get her to stay with Erik and keep an eye out for him. Flashing the nurse a charming smile he apologized on Serena's behalf and led the blond out of the hospital. "Where do you want to stay tonight S," Nate asked and she turned to him confused. "You didn't think I would leave you alone did you?"

"I thought you'd want to go back to your 'date'," she said rolling her eyes. "With Bree Buckly."

Nate almost laughed at the way she twisted Bree's name around. "Nah, I like you more," Nate said and Serena blushed. "We'll just go to your place, I don't want to wake my parents up."

"Ok," Serena said nodding, they were making their way up to her apartment when she asked, "So what did Bree do that was so 'sketchy'?"

"She was asking about Grandfather," Nate said frowning. "I'm assuming her main plan was to see how much information she could get out of me so they could screw my family over, family wars can be brutal."

"I told you I had a bad feeling about her," Serena said and Nate laughed. "What's so funny?"

"I was waiting for you to say that," he said and she shrugged and smiled at him. "You go change and I'll make hot chocolate."

"Thanks Natie," Serena said staring at him for a beat under the dim light of her living room before leaning in to kiss his cheek. She smiled at him and made her way upstairs to change.

Nate took the cups up to Serena's room once she was done, the apartment felt so empty without Erik in it, even though he didn't make a huge noise, she always knew he was there, moving around. Nate handed her a cup and sat on the bed with her, she put the TV on and found a channel with cartoons on, the old kind.

"I broke up with Dan tonight," Serena said so suddenly that Nate choked on his hot chocolate. "He was being … so difficult about things and I just snapped."

"What did he do?" Nate asked incredulously because they were perfectly normal at school the day before.

"He just took this whole relationship between us too far," she said turning to look into Nate's eyes. "He has no right to judge anyway because he has a friend … who's a _girl_, that he never even tell me about over for _family_ night."

"Urm," Nate started trying to figure out what to say. "Serena…"

"Yes, yes I know, terrible reason for a breakup," she said and Nate shrugged, it wasn't actually he understood why she did it.

"No I get it," he said. "I'm just sorry I was part of the reason."

"It's not your fault, it's been over for a while and we were just fooling ourselves into thinking we could make it work," Serena said as she rested her head on his shoulder and Nate immediately tilted his head to touch hers. "We've been drifting for a while, fighting about everything that separates Brooklyn from the Upper East Side, I guess it was just time for that to be over."

Serena finished her hot chocolate and put the cup on the table, trying to cover up a yawn as she did so. "Are you tired?" Nate asked, he knew Serena was running on adrenaline and worry after everything that happened.

"Yes," Serena said rolling her eyes and getting under the covers.

"I'll sleep in Erik's room tonight," Nate said after a stretch of silence. "I don't think he'll mind."

"Nate we've slept in the same bed before," Serena said patting the space next to her for him to get in.

"Yeah but we were like ten the last time that happened," he said and Serena gave him her best sad face she could because as much as she could sleep alone, having Nate close to her was all that she needed to feel like everything would work out. "Ok just don't hog all the blanket, you always did that."

"I did not," Serena said pouting and trying to look anywhere but at Nate when he took off his shirt and pants.

"I remember because I suffered," Nate pointed out and Serena laughed, getting under the covers Nate turned to his side and switched the lights off before whispering goodnight to her.

"Nate," Serena asked after a while, she was laying there in silence, staring at the ceiling trying to find a way to let him know how she felt. She didn't want to scare him off or make it awkward but after her talk with Erik she felt like maybe she should take a chance. "Are you awake?"

"Hmm," Nate mumbled turning to face her. "You have terrible timing."

Serena laughed at his sleepy voice, she opened her mouth but stopped before she could say anything, the whole moment just felt so charged, they were in her bed it was dark and cozy and perfect and what she wants with Nate all the time but she doesn't know how to tell him that she wants this with him, that she wants _them_.

"Serena did you fall asleep," he asked chuckling to himself and Serena giggled in spite of herself. "What's on your mind?"

"Nate I love you," she said and Nate picked his head up to look at her, in the dark her could still see her eyes shining like blue orbs and he knew she was biting her lip waiting for his answer.

"I love you too," Nate said tucking her hair behind her ear.

Serena reached up and took his hand in hers keeping it on her cheek, she took a shaky breath and tried again. "No I don't mean I love you as my best friend," she said squeezing her eyes shut for a second before continuing. "I mean that, I'm _in_ love with you and I'm pretty sure I have been for a very long time."

Serena held onto his hand and closed her eyes as she waited for a reaction, she heard Nate chuckle a little and then she felt his lips press onto hers, Serena's eye's flew open and she let go of his hand and pulled away even though all she wanted to do was kiss him. "I knew what you meant," he whispered running his fingers over her cheek.

"Wait you knew how I felt?" she asked and Nate nodded. Serena slapped his chest and glared at him in the darkness. "How could you not say anything you just let me believe that I was hiding this, how could you let me suffer like that?"

"Serena it wasn't like that," Nate said as Serena turned away from him. Nate put the light on and sat up on the bed so he could look at her. "Come on look at me S."

"No, why should I," she said blinking quickly because the light, as dim as it was, hurt her eyes, her cheeks were burning hot because how could he do this to her?

"I didn't know until a couple weeks ago," he said and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and then she raised her brows asking him how he found out. "Chuck told me."

"What does he have to do with this?" Serena asked, Chuck was one of their best friends but he wasn't one for butting into any relationship, he'll do a take down any day but the only thing with feelings that he did was with Blair.

"Well Blair wanted us to be together no matter what by the end of the year," Nate said laughing because when Blair had an idea she didn't stop until it was a reality. "So Chuck came to me, he didn't want to spend his year trying to get us to 'see the light' so he just told me what he knew."

"Why am I always the last to know?" Serena asked sitting up as well, then she thought of something. "Why did you go out with Bree?"

"Well the cheerleaders had been coming to the courts for weeks, watching us and talking to us and Bree had taken an interest in me," Nate explained and Serena growled making Nate grin. "So Chuck thought we could use it to our advantage."

"That's why Blair dragged me to the courts?" Serena asked and Nate nodded. "I can't believe her."

"Oh no, she has no idea," Nate said and Serena raised an eyebrow. "She just thinks that Chuck planned it but she doesn't know how much of it he planned."

"So I'm not the only one left in the dark," Serena muttered and Nate smiled taking her hand in his. "And the Hamptons?"

"I wasn't sure if I believed Chuck and I needed to know how you'd react to you and me as a couple," he said pressing his lips to her hand. "After that weekend I was sure you at least liked me more than a friend."

"And then you used Bree to make me jealous," Serena said shaking her head. "I was so mad at you for abandoning me like that."

"We weren't sure if this jealousy thing would work, we knew your reaction to Bree made Dan angry and you didn't seem to care very much so I had to do what I could to make you jealous until that relationship was over," Nate said and Serena gasped how could they just pass of her relationships like she wouldn't be hurt when they ended, even though it felt over for so long that she really wasn't. "So after you two broke up I just had to wait for you to confess your feelings."

"You weren't going to date Bree anyway, were you?" Serena asked and Nate shook his head no. "You used her."

"She used me," Nate said shrugging. "She just wanted information from me so it was a mutual using, we just didn't know it yet."

"So why take her out on the date and not just act like you were going out," Serena asked.

"Chuck thought it would be best to make it authentic in case you or Blair decided to spy, the date was a complete fail in any case so not going near that again," Nate said and Serena groaned. "What's wrong?"

"I just realized how fast I admitted this to you," she said covering her face with her hands. "I'm not even single for four hours."

"Do you care?" Nate asked slyly and Serena slapped his chest again but lightly this time. "You don't care."

"I don't but this is going to make me look so bad," she said lying back down and turning her head into the pillow and Nate laughed.

"No, I think the upper east side will breathe a sigh of relief," Nate said and Serena peeked up at him. "According to Chuck everybody knew how we felt about each other but we thought we were hiding it pretty well."

"I can't believe this is happening," Serena said looking at Nate, they were lying face to face.

"Not the night you were expecting huh?" Nate asked and Serena shook her head.

"This has been an eventful night," Serena said covering her face again.

"Can I kiss you now?" Nate asked sheepishly and Serena giggled and nodded scooting closer to him so she could wrap her arms around his neck when they kissed.

* * *

**A/n : OMG I am soooooo sorry I uploaded the wrong thing so I really didnt mean to do that thank you to GG for pointing that out, I was in such a rush to get this out to you guys that I forgot to read it lol sooooo sorry about that again I hope you enjoyed the real chapter now **

** You guys are amazing I love the comments, because I took long to add this chapter it's pretty long hehe the final chapter is next and I have an idea for a sequal so I'll get started on that as soon as my first exam is over, the final chap should be up soon I promise I wont make you wait an entire weekend lol**

**Thank you soooooooo much for the reviews please remember to review this chapter as well**

**So Erik is going to be fine, Nate and Serena have finally let each other know how they feel and we see Chuck's master plan hehe you just gotta love Chuck, I really enjoyed writing this chapter**

**Until next time (^^,)**


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Serena woke up feeling all giddy, she smiled as she opened her eyes but immediately frowned because she was alone. Shaking the sleep from her head she threw the covers of and walked into the bathroom to wash her face before going downstairs dejectedly, thinking her night of giggles, kisses and sweet promises, was just another dream.

"Good morning sleeping beauty," Nate said from the kitchen counter, he had a smile on his face and Serena scowled at him. "I know, I know, I meant to bring breakfast up to you but I have no idea how to make anything so I ordered some stuff, it just came," he said pointing to the tray of food and got up to walk closer to her.

Serena shook her head but jumped into his arms when he got close enough, burying her face into his neck. "I thought I dreamt you stayed over," she mumbled.

"You're still asleep," Nate said laughing, tickling her sides to wake her up and making her squirm. "So we can eat now and go get Erik after, ok?"

"What would I do without you?" Serena asked leaning in to kiss him.

"Lucky for you, you'll never have to find out," he said smiling and leading her to the table.

The rest of the day was a big blur of everyone saying 'Finally'. Serena didn't realize how many people were waiting for them to finally get together until she thought about it that night.

When she walked into her brothers room in the morning with her hand clasped in Nate's smiling happily, Erik sighed and rolled his eyes, muttering 'finally'. After dropping Erik off at the apartment so he could sleep in his own bed for a couple hours they went to Nate's house to let his parents know that everything was ok and for him to change, Anne Archibald actually hugged them when she saw them coming in, whispering 'finally' in their ears and calling for her husband who screamed 'finally' from his study after Anne told him what had happened. Serena was embarrassed but Nate laughed it off and squeezed her hand.

Blair was over joyed and Chuck just amused at the shocked expression on Serena's face when they came over to check up on Erik. Blair squealed her 'finally', Chuck muttered it under his breath like Erik had and Serena hugged Chuck for his part in getting the two of them together. For the rest of the day they were getting these looks that screamed _'it's about time you two got together' _from everyone they knew. Serena's mother came back from wherever she was to check that her son was still alive, shook her head and said her 'finally' before leaving again with her boyfriend of the month.

And as she sat on her bed that night looking at her phone she got a blast from Gossip Girl with a picture of herself and Nate walking around the park, their hands clasped together and they were laughing, completely engrossed in each other, the word 'finally' written big and bold underneath the picture with a small caption under that said '_I'm not the only one thinking it, it's about time S and N stopped messing with the hearts of the UES and took what they really wanted, let's hope this lasts at least as long as it took for them to get together'. _

"Have you seen this?" Serena asked when she saw Nate leaning against her doorframe with a breathtaking smile on his face.

"Yeah, I think we look cute," Nate said walking forward to kiss her. "You don't think so?"

"I think we do, I just can't believe that everyone was waiting for us to just get together and we were the only idiots who didn't know how we felt about each other," Serena said scrunching up her nose.

Nate smiled and kissed her again. "Well no matter how long it took, we are _finally_ together."

By the time they got back to school Serena had forgotten about Dan and how fast she'd moved on from her relationship with him but he didn't. He tried to cause problems, making sure Nate heard him tell the guys things about himself and Serena that weren't true and telling Serena how Nate was fooling around with Bree when Serena wasn't at their basketball practices. Serena rolled her eyes because as much as she's never trusted Bree Buckley she knew the girl wasn't interested in Nate and since she knew she wasn't going to get any information out of him she moved on to one of his cousins.

Even though they knew none of it was true, the constant whispers of Dan's words in their ears were driving them apart, they loved being together but they kept doubting each other and the speed at which they started their relationship making it impossible for them to enjoy private moments with each other without overthinking the things they are doing and who the other person is thinking of.

Finally Blair had had enough, she wanted this perfect relationship too badly for her best friends to let something as trivial as Dan Humphrey break them up.

"I don't know what your deal is Humphrey and I really don't care but before I start coming after you and making your already pathetic life that much more miserable I suggest you back of and stop all contact with Nate and Serena," Blair said cornering him after school when she'd finally had enough. "They are too nice to do anything about your obvious jealousy and wanna be Upper East Side ways but I'm not, I can crush you like a bug, I've done it before to people much higher up on the social ladder than you think you are."

She tuned on her heel and left Dan standing there gaping at her but with everything she'd done in the past he feared her words and knew how horrific she could make a person's life and he left them alone, it took him a few days to really take her treat seriously but he finally left their lives with an apology and a promise to stay as far away from them as possible. Blair smiled and Serena shook her head but hugged her best friend for doing what she did.

About a month after they began their relationship they had a school function to go to, something Blair was more than excited for because she planned it. Serena put on a gold dress and let her hair fall behind her, she loved that Nate was so tall because she got to wear her really high heels that have been looking at her from her cupboard _begging_ to be worn, she was towering over Dan when she tried them on and he was around.

Serena jumped when she heard a wolf whistle from the door. "You look ... absolutely irresistible."

"You look pretty handsome yourself," Serena said smiling and walking over to him and laughing. "You'll never get this tie thing right, will you?"

Nate grinned, "As long as I have you around I don't need to," he said and Serena smiled wide as she straightened his tie because he planned on keeping her with him for a long time.

"As long as it's me and no one else," Serena said leaning in to touch their noses together, she didn't want to kiss him just yet because she'd ruin her lipstick and he'd have color on his lips.

"Shall we?" Nate asked taking her hand and bowing to kiss it, like he had when they were kids and Serena giggled.

"We shall," she said grabbing her purse and letting him lead her out. Erik had already gone ahead of them, Blair managed to convince him to help out with over-seeing the events of the night.

Blair was grinning from ear to ear when they entered the ball room, Chuck was standing at her side holding her hand and laughing as they made their way over to their best friends. "Guess what, guess what, guess what," Blair said almost jumping up and down and Serena looked from her to Chuck to find out what was going on.

"What?" Serena asked when Chuck just shrugged because she had to guess. Blair looked like she was going to burst if she didn't say anything.

"I got early acceptance into Yale," she said squealing and Serena screamed and hugged her tightly. "The letter came this morning."

"Oh my God that's amazing," Serena said hugging Blair again. "I'm so proud of you."

"Congratulations," Nate said hugging her as well.

"I'm so happy," she said. "Chuck's moving with me and you guys are going to still be in here when we come home for the holidays right?"

"Yeah we'll be around," Serena said as Nate took her hand back and linked their fingers together, she and Nate applied to places close to home, they didn't want to go far even thought their parents wanted Brown and Dartmouth for them respectively. "It's going to be fun."

"I just feel like screaming it to the world," Blair said throwing her arms up and jumping, Chuck wrapped his arms around her from behind to get her to stop moving so much.

"Get this, she hasn't even had alcohol yet," he said and Serena and Nate laughed at him.

"Ha ha," Blair said dryly but smiled again because she was just that happy. "I am loving this year."

Nate left Serena's side for a few minutes with Chuck to get them drinks and she frowned, she hated not having him next to her.

"So is being with Nate everything you've ever wanted?" Blair asked and Serena smiled, because she couldn't not smile when she thought of her _boyfriend_.

"It's so much more B," Serena said biting her lip. "He's just amazing, I'm starting to figure out what you and Chuck have."

Blair smiled and hugged Serena because her plan worked, it may not have been exactly her plan but her best friend was happy and protected and as long as she was with Nate she would be taken care of like Blair tried to do. "I'm so happy that you're happy S," Blair said with tears in her eyes, at the end of the year when she and Chuck really do have to leave for Yale, she doesn't know how she's going to stop the waterworks.

"Oh my God this is terrible," Serena said laughing when she pulled away from Blair and tried wiping her eyes without messing up her makeup.

"Hi," Nate said when he got back, frowning at the tears in Serena's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"We had a moment, you worry too much," Blair said smiling as Nate carefully wiped Serena's tears and kissed her forehead. Chuck stood next to her a second later and handed her a glass before wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Where's mine?" she asked nudging Nate.

"Well you'd have to put it down anyway for this part of the night," Nate said and Serena raised her eyebrows. "I'll get you whatever you want after this."

Serena frowned at him once she realized he dragged her onto the dance floor. "We could have danced after," Serena said as Nate brought her left hand to rest on his shoulder and took her right hand in his, spinning with her once.

"I know but they wouldn't be playing our song," he said holding there joined hands close to their bodies as they danced.

"We have a song?" Serena asked raising an eyebrow and grinning because he was so sweet.

Nate leaned in closer to her, "Listen to the words," he said softly in her ear and Serena shivered but forced herself to listen to them anyway. "_Lucky I'm in love with my best friend…_"

That's as far as he got because Serena captured his lips with hers. "No singing," she said smiling when he gave her a wounded look. Serena kissed his lips again and let her forehead rest against his. "I really am lucky I'm in love with my best friend."

"Yeah I love you too," he said like it was one of those things and then he smiled mischievously leaning in to kiss her again, getting lost in the song and each other.

_Lucky I'm in love with my best friend  
Lucky to have been where I have been  
Lucky to be coming home again  
Lucky we're in love in every way  
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed  
Lucky to be coming home someday_

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**A/N hey guys I apologise again for the mess up with the last chapters post lol Fanfiction keeps all these documents adn I was just too lazy to delete it anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this story, i'm so sad it's over! I really want to write a sequel to it so if you guys have any ideas or things that you'd like to see please review and let me know, I have a general idea but I'm not sure if I want to stick with it**

**I am starting my exams tomorrow so the posting of the next story should be really slow lol also if you guys didnt review the last chaper please do and thanks again to GG for pointing out that I posted the wrong thing**

**Thank you to everyone of you who reviewed, favorited, alerted or even just read this story**

**I dont even know what to say except that this was a really fun and fluffy story that I hope you guys love and dont mind if I write more in the future hehe oh and please review!**

**Until next time (^^,)**


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